Illumination distribution system for microrecord reader

ABSTRACT

An illumination distribution system for a microrecord reader in which information is optically extracted from the microrecord by a lens array. The microrecord is formed by a plurality of data sets recorded on a record medium, each set representing a reduced scale image of a distinct page of intelligence and being dissected into a multiplicity of data sub-sets which are dispersed on the medium. The illumination distribution system is constituted by a plurality of light-conducting fibers each acting to conduct light derived from a common source to a respective sub-set thereby illuminating the sub-sets of a data set from which information is being extracted, the remaining areas of the microrecord being un-illuminated, thereby avoiding the waste of the available light energy and conserving power.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of the copending application Ser. No.291,589, filed Sept. 25, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,686 entitled"Micro-Image Records" which copending application is a division of theoriginal application entitled "Micro-Image Recording and Read-OutSystem", Ser. No. 135,996, filed Apr. 21, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No.3,704,068.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to micro-image techniques for recordingand reproducing intelligence, and more particularly to a microfilmsystem in which specially prepared, interlaced microimages appearing ona multiple-image microrecord may be read back by a highly compactoptical reader.

In order to conserve storage space and afford a ready means forretrieving information, it is now common practice to photographdocuments, records, books, and various forms of technical data in asharply reduced scale on microfilm. Conventionally, a microscale imageof each book page or document is recorded on a separate frame on amicrofilm roll. To view the recorded data, the roll is inserted in areader or optical projector and the film is advanced therein to place aselected frame into the optical gate whereby an enlarged and readableimage is cast on a screen.

In recent years, a new technique has been developed to place a group ofmicrofilm images on a single sheet rather than along a film roll. Insuch sheets, which are known commercially as "microfiches," themicroscale images are generally arranged serially along parallel rows,whereby the microimages are distributed in a grid formation on thesheet. A microfiche is useful where one wishes to incorporate on asingle reproducible sheet, interrelated documents or other informationpertaining to a particular subject matter. Thus, with a microfiche, onemay record all of the pages of a sizeable book on a single sheet.

An original microfiche is known as a master. The principle advantage ofa microfiche master, apart from the fact that it provides a consolidatedrecord, is that it is readily reproducible to form additional orreference copies. The most effective way of deriving transparentreference copies from a microfiche master is by the contact printingprocess, the microfiche master serving as the negative.

By using modern microfiche techniques, one is able, from a singlemicrofiche master containing all of the pages of a book, to producethousands of low-cost reference copies. It becomes possible, therefore,at a modest cost, to supply a student with a small file containing, say,five hundred microfiches, each being a complete record of a referencebook. In this way, an engineering student may be provided with acomplete library of 500 engineering texts at a very small fraction ofthe cost of these books.

In order, however, to make use of the microfiche, the student requiresan optical reader. This reader must include means to shift themicrofiche in the X and Y directions, in order to align a particularframe with the optical system serving to project an enlarged image ofthe selected frame or page on the screen.

Existing forms of microfilm and microfiche readers, even those of verysimple and relatively compact design, have a certain minimum volumewhich precludes their use in the same manner as a book. A typical bookis about 8 inches wide, 10 inches long and 11/2 inches in depth. A bookof this or somewhat larger size may be carried about and read withoutdifficulty, for the book dimensions lend themselves to personalhandling.

But though a microfilm roll, a microfilm cartridge or a microfiche makesit possible to highly compress the information contained on hundreds orthousands of pages, the conventional reader adapted to reproduce theimages carried on the film strip or microfiche has a substantial volume,so that even the smallest commercially available reader cannot becarried about or handled in the manner of a book.

In order to understand why existing reader designs dictate a relativelylarge minimum volume that precludes dimensions comparable to those of abook, we shall consider by way of example a microfiche containing 2160frames, each frame being a microimage of a book page, whose dimensionsat 81/2 × 11 inches, with several thousand characters appearing on eachpage. For proper read-out without eyestrain, a frame magnification ofabout 60 times is required. Obviously, the larger the magnification, thegreater the acuity in viewing or reading of the micro-recorded material.

However, practical considerations impose strict limits on the degree ofmagnification which is feasible. Let us assume that the projectionsystem must be adapted to blow-up the microimage from a size of 0.168 ×0.130 inches, to a size equal to or larger than the original of 81/2 ×11 inches. Since lens systems are generally round, the lens must becapable of accommodating the larger diagonal of the 81/2 × 11 inch pagewithout distortion.

This projector requires a lens of large aperture (small f-number) andlarge field acceptance angle. In order to present enlarged letters inacceptable form with only a negligible degree of distortion at thecorners of the page, the lens must be highly corrected. Such lenses areexpensive and run as high as $150 or more.

The f-number has to be small, if one considers that all light appearingon the screen must pass through the very small microimage frame. Thesmaller the f-number, the less wasteful is the lens in optical terms,but the more expensive it becomes. A severe limit on the amount ofpermissible light is set by the fact that the microfiche may be damagedby absorbed light flux. If the light intensity is increased to improvethe readability of the image, the resultant increase in absorbed lightflux may be destructive to the film.

A typical commercial reader lens suitable for existing microfiche imagesmay have as many as 12 elements and a length of 3.7 inches, with a focallength of 6.2 mm and a diameter of about 1.2 inches. A lens of this typeis suitable for only a small field of about 11° and requires aprojection distance of at least 40 inches.

It is for the foregoing reasons that conventional microfilm ormicrofiche readers must have a minimum light path of 12 to 40 inches foracceptable performance. Such readers, therefore, usually make use ofbeam-folding arrangements in order to create a relatively compact readerbox whose dimensions make it feasible to place the reader on a table orpedestal. But with the existing microfilm and microfiche techniques,however ingeniously the optical reader is designed, one cannot, becauseof minimum light path requirements, reduce the reader dimensions to apoint where the overall dimensions are comparable to those of a book,that is a reader in shallow box form whose length and width, determinedby screen size, more or less correspond to those of a book page, andwith a box depth no greater than about two inches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is the main object of the invention toprovide a microimage technique in which the pages or documents to berecorded in microfilm or microfiche form are not recorded in discreteframes, but are interlaced on a common surface to produce a multipleimage micro-record which may be read back by selectively enlarging onlythose characters or bits of information on the surface, which togetherconstitute the information contained on a single page or document.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide amultiple-image microfilm or microfiche of the above-described type,which may be read back by an optical reader whose dimensions arecomparable to those of an ordinary book, which reader may be carriedabout and used in the manner of a book. Thus with a reader in accordancewith the invention, the reader may be held in the lap of the user anddoes not require a supporting table or stand.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a microimage system makinguse of a multiple-image, interlaced micro-record which is readable bymeans of a reader having a lens matrix constituted by a planar array oflensettes, each functioning to enlarge a respective individual characterin the group of characters forming the text of a single microimage,means being included selectively to index the multiple-imagemicro-record relative to the matrix, whereby with each incremental shifta new image derived from the multiple microimage is presented.

A significant feature of the invention resides in the fact that becauseeach lensette is called upon to enlarge only a single character ratherthan an entire microimage, as in conventional readers, the lensette needhave only a very narrow angle of field and need not be corrected foraberrations. Since the entire matrix may be inexpensively molded, thecost of the reader, which is determined in large part by the lenssystem, is exceptionally low as compared to standard readers. Moreover,because each lensette serves to project a single character onto thescreen in a short throw, the total depth of the reader may be as smallas one inch or even less, thereby making possible a flat or shallow-boxreader structure whose dimensions are comparable to those of an ordinarybook.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a micro-record in whichthe pages of recorded text appears in interlaced form on a commonsurface, and which may be fully read back in a reader by incrementallyadvancing the micro-record in one direction only, thereby obviating theneed to shift the record in both the X and Y directions to derive all ofthe recorded material.

Briefly stated, these objects are attained in a system in which thepages of a book or a series of documents or other data are recorded in areduced scale on the surface of a recording film to produce multiplemicroimages thereon, the micro-images representing the pages ordocuments being interlaced, whereby the characters or information bitswhich together constitute the text of one page or document areinterspersed with those representing the characters or bits constitutingthe text of the other pages or documents.

While the invention as described herein breaks down the text of eachpage into individual characters or bits, it is to be understood thatwhere the text in question is constituted by a drawing, a photograph orother information not in symbolic or character form, this text will beanalyzed into separate bits, each of which will be picked up by arelated lensette in the matrix.

The multiple image micro-record is reproduced by means of an opticalreader having a lens matrix defined by a planar array of lensettes, eachof which is arranged to enlarge and project a respective individualcharacter or bit in the group thereof forming a distinct microimage, theenlarged images formed by the lensettes being projected over a shortdistance onto a screen parallel to the matrix.

Means are provided to index the micro-record relative to the matrixwhereby with each incremental shift, a different group of characters orbits are caused to register with the matrix, thereby successivelypresenting the individual images of the multiple image micro-record onsaid screen. While a screen is disclosed, it is to be understood thatwith an appropriate matrix design, one may view the image directly onthe matrix, each lensette defining one element in a mosaic of charactersor bits, which together create the microimage.

OUTLINE OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as further objectsand further features thereof, reference is made to the detaileddescription to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a microrecord image projection systemillustrate of certain principles underlying the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates in plan view an interlaced multiple-image microrecordin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a microrecord in accordance with theinvention, which microrecord lends itself to indexing in only onedirection;

FIG. 4 is a modification of the microrecord shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cassette-type reader adapted to present a microrecord of thetype shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a lens for projecting a characterappearing on a microrecord;

FIG. 7 shows one form of lens matrix;

FIG. 8 shows another form of lens matrix;

FIG. 9 is one form of a multiple-branch light pipe for illuminating acharacter pattern; and

FIG. 10 is another embodiment of a light pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

General Principles: In a micro-record in accordance with the invention,the characters or bits of information constituting the text or subjectmatter of a single page or document to be recorded, are interlaced withthe characters or bits of information constituting the text or subjectmatter of the many other pages or documents recorded on the samemicro-record.

If, therefore, we assume that each page has a maximum character or bitcapacity of 1,000, the 1,000 characters or bits representing each pageor document, will be so distributed and spaced from each other on themicrorecord so as to form a particular character pattern thereon, whoseposition is distinct from the character patterns representing all otherpages or documents recorded on the same micro-record.

The lens matrix which cooperates with the multiple-microimage record ormicro-record is formed by a planar array of lensettes having short focallengths, the lensettes being distributed and so spaced from each otheron the matrix as to optically register with the respective characters inthat character pattern on the micro-record which is disposed inalignment with the matrix.

Hence by indexing the micro-record relative to the lens matrix, one maybring the various character patterns representing individual pages anddocuments into sequential alignment with the matrix, and thereby projectthe text thereof to the viewer, one page at a time. Assuming a simpleindexing mechanism operated by pressing a button or pushing a lever, anda reader in flat form, one may then read a micro-record of a book verymuch in the fashion of a book, with the reader held in the hands of theuser.

But before considering in detail the nature of the micro-record havinginterlaced character patterns, and the structure of the reader forprojecting this unique micro-record, we shall, in connection with FIG.1, first analyze in highly simplified form, a microfiche projectionarrangement illustrative of certain principles underlying the presentinvention.

The transparent microfiche is designated by the letter X, the lensmatrix therefor is designated by Y, and the screen onto which thecharacters are projected, is designated by Z. Illumination of themicrofiche is provided by a suitable light source L. On the microfiche,there appears a single line of text, composed of seventeen charactersspelling "WASHINGTON, GEORGE."

The lens matrix consists in the example, of seventeen lensettes numbered1 to 17, the lensettes being linearly spaced and in optical registrationwith the seventeen characters on the microfiche parallel to the matrix.Thus lensette Number "1" projects character "W" on the screen, lensettenumber "11" projects character "," on the screen, and lensette 17projects character "E" on the screen.

Each lensette may be in the form of a small (i.e., 2 mm) acrylic plasticbead. A bead of this size is incapable of projecting a whole micro-pageof say, 0.168 × 0.130 inches, except very imperfectly, for serious pincushion distortion would be encountered and only a central portion ofthe page would be readable, even if the lens were carefully focused.

However, when a lens of this tiny size, which is herein termed a"lensette" is used only to project a single character rather than awhole page, no disturbing distortion of the projected character isexperienced even with a very cheaply molded lensette.

If now a second such acrylic bead is used in tandem in order effectivelyto form a compound projection microscope, one may project each characterwithout any significant distortion over a distance of smaller than 2inches between the microfiche system and the screen.

The pair of lenses, which in the drawing is represented by two distinctspheres, one above the other, may in practice be constituted by halfspheres or smaller segments, or by connected lenses of the microscopeobjective type. Or an inverted telephoto objective type with small focallength, may be used. In any event, the distance between the micro-recordand the screen is very short, thereby making possible a shallow-box orflat reader.

The observer views the screen in the usual way at normal viewingdistance. Screen Z may be a conventional projection screen, but improvedviewing is achievable with a directional screen, that is a screen withpronounced forward scatter, or having a fresnel-type lens placed aboveor below the screen.

Thus with the characters on the microfiche in alignment with the axes ofthe lens system, and with the magnification and apertures such that eachlensette exclusively shows a respective character on the screen, one isable to read the full line of characters without distortion.

This novel technique for recording and organizing information so thatcharacters are projected by individual lensettes, is highly efficient,for the whole microfiche or film can be filled completely withcharacters or bits of information, provided that these bits are recordedin an interlaced manner as previously described.

Micro-records: Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a microfiche ormicro-record R on which, to simplify the example, only twenty-five pagesof text or documentation are recorded in the form of interlacedcharacter patterns.

All of the various characters such as the letters of the alphabet, whichtogether constitute the text of page one, are represented in the figureby the number "1". It will be seen that the numbers "1" are distributedover the record and are spaced from each other to create a characterpattern having a generally rectangular formation. The numbers "1" in thecharacter pattern all lie in optical registration with an array oflensettes in a lens matrix M. The lenses are represented by circleswhich enclose the numbers "1". Hence the lensette pattern corresponds tothe pattern of characters recorded in the record R.

It will also be seen that the total number of "1's" in the characterpattern is nine, there being three lines with three "1's" in each line.Obviously, this is a gross simplification, for in actual practice, themaximum number of characters per page may be well over a thousandcharacters or bits of information.

The characters which together constitute the text of the second page arerepresented by numbers "2", those representing the text of page three bythe numbers "3", and so on until we reach page 25, represented bynumbers "25". Each pattern of numbers occupies an interlaced positiondetermined by its column and row setting which is distinct from everyother pattern. Consequently by selectively indexing the record Rrelative to lens matrix M, each character pattern may be brought intoexact alignment with the matrix for separate projection and read-out.

In the interlaced pattern shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement is such as topermit indexing in the X and Y directions to effect a total read-out ofall 25 patterns. To illustrate how this action takes place, we haveidentified the first five columns on the micro-record by letters A_(c),B_(c), C_(c), D_(c), and E_(c) and the first five rows by the LettersA_(r), B_(r), C_(r), D_(r), and E_(r).

Hence when record R is so aligned with the matrix M that the lensettesare in registration with the successive column and row settings in the Xand Y directions, all 25 pages can be read out one-by-one, in thefollowing order:

    ______________________________________                                        PAGE CHARACTER PATTERN                                                                           COLUMN     ROW                                             ______________________________________                                         1                 A.sub.c    A.sub.r                                          2                 B.sub.c    A.sub.r                                          3                 C.sub.c    A.sub.r                                          4                 D.sub.c    A.sub.r                                          5                 E.sub.c    A.sub.r                                          6                 A.sub.c    B.sub.r                                          7                 B.sub.c    B.sub.r                                          8                 C.sub.c    B.sub.r                                          9                 D.sub.c    B.sub.r                                         10                 E.sub.c    B.sub.r                                         11                 A.sub.c    C.sub.r                                         12                 B.sub.c    C.sub.r                                         13                 C.sub.c    C.sub.r                                         14                 D.sub.c    C.sub.r                                         15                 E.sub.c    C.sub.r                                         16                 A.sub.c    D.sub.r                                         17                 B.sub.c    D.sub.r                                         18                 C.sub.c    D.sub.r                                         19                 D.sub.c    D.sub.r                                         20                 E.sub.c    D.sub.r                                         21                 A.sub.c    E.sub.r                                         22                 B.sub.c    E.sub.r                                         23                 C.sub.c    E.sub.r                                         24                 D.sub.c    E.sub.r                                         25                 E.sub.c    E.sub.r                                         ______________________________________                                    

Let us now consider the nature of the interlaced pattern micro-record ormicrofiche in more practical terms.

On a fiche 81/2 × 11 inches (i.e. of a 93.5 square inch area) on whichthe characters and type require a regular spacing of 1.5 mil × 1.5 mil,93.5/2.25 × 10⁶ letters can be nominally located, that is 41.5 millionletters. It will be appreciated therefore that the character capacity ofthe fiche is extraordinarily high.

Since the page content of a typical novel averages 2200 letters perpage, whereas the most densely printed scientific journal contains 5500letters per page, we find that if 95% of the fiche is utilized, about18,000 pages of a novel or 7,200 pages of a scientific journal can bestored on a single micro-record of the interlaced type. This means thatninety books of 200 pages each of the novel type or twenty-four books of300 pages each of the scientific journal type can be recorded on asingle thin fiche of 81/2 by 11 inches.

One has to choose a letter size on the screen which is an integralmultiple of the letter size on the fiche. If, as assumed, the spaceallocated for the letter in the fiche is 1.5 mil × 1.5 mil, themagnification factor 67 will make the letters on the screen have thesize 100.5 mil. This will be the lateral and/or vertical module of thelensette axes of the lens matrix.

Let us consider a line on a fiche 81/2 inches wide. If these lines areutilized 95%, then 8.075 inches are available for information. This linelength of 8.075 inches allows for about 80 letters on the screen. Thenby shifting the fiche laterally, about 67 different sentences orpositions can be read.

The total lateral shift is 67 × 1.5 mils or about 100.5 or about 50 milsin either direction from a center point. The vertical column, if a lensmatrix in use can utilize 11 inches at 95% utilization = 10.45 inches;hence 10450/100.5 = 104 lensettes. Also here, an up and/or down totalmovement of 67 is feasible. A total of 104 × 80 = 8320 lensettes isrequired if a complete matrix is to be used on the fiche for projectingcharacter patterns having an equal numbers of characters.

Since 67 positions laterally and 67 positions vertically can be used, atotal of 4,489 pages or positions can be accommodated, with 8,320letters visible on each page, or in this particular system 4,489 × 8,320or a total of 37,348,480 letters can be accommodated.

It will be appreciated that the invention lends itself to other ficheformats and that magnifications of up to 150 and more can be achievedwithout difficulty. It is possible, for example, to make a reader for a4 inches × 6 inches fiche with a magnification of 150 and that will be1/2 inch to 1 inch in depth or less.

It is also to be understood that the method in accordance with theinvention of representing intelligence, is not confined to letters orchemical formula terms, but to any accepted form of symbols, orotherwise encoded information as for instance, holograms, interferencepatterns, fingerprints, music notes, maps, or portions of pictures andline drawings which in the character pattern on the micro-recordconstitute the information bits.

In the micro-record embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, read-out iseffected by indexing the micro-record in both the X and Y directions.Hence the reader must be equipped with a mechanism capable ofincrementally shifting the record in orthogonal directions relative tothe lens matrix. In some instances, it is desirable to effect read-outof the entire record merely by indexing in one direction, for then theindexing mechanism may be simplified and certain advantages may begained thereby.

To accomplish this result with a microfiche, the fiche F as shown inFIG. 3 is provided with character patterns which are angled relative tothe character lines. In this figure, 26 pages are recorded, thecharacters of each page being represented by the character patternscontaining numbers "1" to "26", respectively. It will be seen that thecharacters forming each pattern are angled to form character lines whichare askew relative to the edges of the fiche.

The lens matrix LM is constituted by an array of lensettes whosepositions lie in registration with the characters in a character patternaligned therewith, and these positions are therefore also askew relativeto the edge of the micro-record. In FIG. 3, the lensettes are shown inregistration with a character pattern of "1's".

It will be seen that the first series of "1's" in the first six rows inthe micro-record are staggered so that the "1" in the sixth row leadsthe "1" in the fifth row by five character spaces, and the "1" in thefifth row leads that of the fourth row by five character spaces, and soon. The second series of "1's" starts in the sixth row after "26", andis similarly staggered until the eleventh row, where a third seriesstarts after "26".

In this arrangement, because of the staggered relationship of the rows,the effective micro-record area is not fully utilized. However, it hasthe advantage of permitting a total read-out by indexing in only onedirection. Thus as the fiche is shifted incrementally to align columns Ato Z with the lens matrix LM, the 26 patterns represented by numbers 1to 26 will be read out sequentially.

In the interlaced arrangement shown in FIG. 4 which is particularlyuseful for a film strip FS in cassette or cartridge form where indexingcan be readily carried out in one direction by conventional film advancemechanisms, the interlacing of the character patterns is also in anaskew arrangement, but instead of starting each new series of characterson the last line of the previous series, as in FIG. 3, the new series isbegun on the next line. In this way, there are unused spaces on the filmstrip only on its leading edge, the film record space otherwise beingcompletely used. Here again, we have a lens matrix LMM whose lensettesare in registration with the characters in the character pattern alignedtherewith, there being as many lensettes as there are characters in apattern.

With a micro-record of the type shown in FIG. 4, one may use a cassettetype of reader as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the film strip FS is wound ina supply roll 10 and is driven past the lens matrix LMM to be rewound ona take-up roll 11. Illumination is provided with a lamp 12 energized bya battery 13, whereby an illuminated and enlarged image is projected ona small screen 14. The indexing in this inexpensive cassette may becarried out manually or by motor-control. One may also use cassettes orcartridges with the film in endless belt or continuous form, so thatupon completion of indexing, the film may again be read withoutrewinding.

While in the embodiment previously described, the micro-record or ficheis shown in rectangular or square form, in actual practice round orelliptical records may be used. The characters need not appear in astraight line. For example, with a round fiche, the characters orinformation bits may be arranged in radial columns, and the lens matrixwhich is also round is provided with an array of lensettes whosepositions are such as to register with a pattern of characters on thefiche. Or the lensettes may be arranged in a spiral pattern in a mannersimilar to a Nipkov disc to project a character pattern having a spiralformation.

For one special application, the "sentence" length does not, in general,have to exceed 30 characters and the lens matrix can be a linear stripwith 30 lensettes. In this instance, illumination is only necessary forthe thirty characters lying along the axes of the lensettes, so thatbattery operation is feasible.

Such a linear lens matrix can be used as a search tool, for instance,with a telephone directory type fiche. In this arrangement, one isprimarily interested in locating a given name (subscriber) and histelephone number. Such entries are usually 30 letters per entry and lineor column.

The advantages of this arrangement become apparent if one considers theManhattan telephone directory. It contained in a recent year, 815,000subscribers and ran 1,890 pages, weighing five pounds. According toinformation supplied by the telephone company, the number of Manhattandirectories printed that year was 1.75 million and it took six hundredmen four weeks to distribute the books to the subscribers.

But with the present invention, all entries in the Manhattan directorycan be accommodated on a single fiche 81/2 × 11 inches in size, to beused in conjunction with a search strip of lensettes, yielding one entryat a time. Eye-legible markings in alphabetical order allow the strip tobe placed according to the letter or name recorded, while sideways orvertical displacement allows consecutive entries to appear successivelyin the lens arrangement. A circular fiche which is transparent or of theopaque card variety, can be used with a radial or tangential searchstrip.

Another variation of the telephone directory recording method is toincorporate a code in the entry together with the name of the subscribersuch that this coded message, which may be taking the form of a 5-bitcode corresponding to the telephone number, may be automaticallytransferred in electrical terms, when pushing a button, directly ontothe touch button or dial telephone system, without introducing a sourceof errors.

This is achieved by picking up this coded number, with a portion of alensette projection strip in contact with or adjacent to a photocellsensing strip, producing the electrical impulses serving to "dial" thenumber. The new AT&T credit card checker and an automatic dialer can beincorporated in such a system. Pickups other than optical are equallyfeasible.

Another application for the invention is in connection with mail ordercatalogues, such as that published by Sears-Roebuck, where in thisinstance, one fiche or micro-record is sufficient to contain all of thecatalog information.

In general, one can record information on an omnibus fiche in an encodedway, so that only the person entitled to the information and having theproper lens matrix can read out selected portions of the information. Alarge organization, commercial, industrial or educational orgovernmental, can print an omnibus or multi-purpose fiche containing allinformation it wishes to record, and then make the master available toindividuals whose level of authority determines which portion of themaster is readable.

If an individual A is entitled to some information but not allinformation contained in the multi-purpose fiche, he is provided with areader having a special lens plate or matrix (A) which can only extractthat information which matches his read-out matrix. Hence individual Acan read only that information made available to him by his lens plateand nothing else. An individual B is similarly given access only toinformation encoded to match lens plate B, etc.

But a higher-level person with permission to have access to informationgroups A to F, for instance, will have a lens plate adapted to extractcorresponding information. Another individual may, by way of a speciallens matrix, be given access to information groups G to Z. There may,however, be a master lens plate for a senior executive, giving himaccess to all groups of information. In this way, a security system canbe achieved in a rather simple way, entailing the expense of one omnibusfiche from which general issue copies, at agreed intervals, may bedistributed to all authorized personnel. Yet only those with the properreaders will be afforded access to the information they have authorityto see.

The optical system, in accordance with the invention, in the simple formof lens plates or with special groups of lenses in their proper matrix,can be used to record the material in proper locations on a microrecordby altering the pages of information according to the manner required.Such a system can be used to record a computer output directly in thisencoded way, making it possible for persons with appropriate flat-formreaders to read-out the information.

Another aspect of this invention resides in its ability to "animate" therecorded information by moving the fiche or filmstrip up and down, orright and left relative to the optical system in any combination desiredin order to make the "information" change at an intended rate andsequence.

Optical Systems: The optical systems described are not the only onesthat can be used for implementing the invention. In lieu of sphericallenses, an aspherical lens of appropriate diameter can be used for thelensettes. The main emphasis is in short "throwing" distance in theevent one uses a screen for viewing and on proper magnification fordirect viewing.

Instead of using small radius spherical refracting lenses or crossedcylinder lenses made of glass or plastic, one can make verylarge-aperture, small reflecting objectives similar to reflectingmicroscope objectives. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, each character on amicrofiche 15 is projected by a lensette system comprising a reflectingspherical surface 16, that reflects the image of the character onto anelliptical concave surface 17 for projection onto a suitable screen. Thesurface can be corrected elliptically, spherically, or in combinationsthereof.

Simple techniques have heretofore been developed in order to manufacturesmall focal length lens matrices inexpensively by molding them inplastic.

Assuming that spherical lenses are required in tandem, these can be madeon thin sheets of a thickness corresponding to the focal length and twoof these arranged in tandem. The advantage of the flat thickness havingthe value of the object distance is that the fiche can be directlycontacted with the lens system for automatic focussing, etc. Thus asshown in FIG. 7, lensettes 18 in the required pattern are molded on theupper surface of an otherwise flat acrylic plastic sheet 18A having athickness matching the object distance.

Molds for such a lens matrix can be made for spherical lensettes byembossing copper or other suitable metal blank of the size needed, bymeans of highly polished, precision ball-bearings at the properlocations. X--Y micro-coder systems are in existence that can advancethe holder with the copper blank in accurate steps (to better than 50micro-inches), pausing a short moment to emboss the material with thesphere to a prescribed depth until the matrix is complete. This copperblank is now used to mold a plate, say 81/2 × 11 or smaller, of acrylicmaterial. If the temperature and the time during the molding areproperly held and repeated, predictable expansion coefficients areobtained such that the required tolerances are maintained.

Another method for molding matrices may be that used successfully inmultiple mask-making for semiconductor manufacture as described in thearticle appearing in the IBM Journal of April 1963 entitled "FLY'S EYELENS TECHNIQUE FOR GENERATING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FABRICATION MASKS."

A lens plate matrix can be molded with two lenses in tandem if needed,as shown in FIG. 8, such that the alignment of the lensette elements 19and 20 is automatically molded into the body 21 of the unit. If separatesheets are used, alignment marks, holes, bosses, etc., are provided forthis purpose. Lensettes of 1 mm length in tandem with a negative lens oflonger focal length, say -3 mm, can yield a magnification of 100 at adistance of one inch.

ILLUMINATION. We have in the foregoing, only discussed transparentfiches or micro-records which are illuminated from their rear sides. Weshall call this mode of operation "back illumination." As will be shownlater, the invention is also usable with non-transparent fiches or othersheets or strips which are viewable with "front illumination."

For "back illumination", one can use the conventional means forilluminating the complete fiche with the aid, for instance, of a "lightbox". Not only is this method wasteful of light, but it also leads tounnecessary heating, and it consumes (when incandescent electric bulbsof any type are used) large amounts of power. This, as a practicalmatter, precludes battery operation of the reader.

To overcome this drawback, one may use a light-pipe arrangement thatconducts light from a common source along multiple paths to positionscorresponding to the character positions on the character pattern on themicro-record in registration with the lens matrix. In practice, thelight-pipe arrangement may be as shown in FIG. 9, in which a lightconductor 22 of suitable plastic or fiber-optics material havinginternal reflection properties, is optically coupled to a light source23, and is provided with a multiplicity of light-conducting branches 24terminating at respective character positions in the pattern.

This arrangement conserves light, for no light is applied onto the ficheexcept where needed. This makes it feasible to use low-wattage bulbs.Also, because fiber-optics plastics usually filter out infra-red energy,and the multiple branches, in any event, effectively dissipate heat,destructive heating of the fiche is avoided. The invention is by nomeans limited to a single light source, and small bulbs may, inpractice, be used in conjunction with clusters of light pipes. Orlight-emitting diodes may be used to illuminate the characters.

For non-transparent micro-records, such as record 25 in FIG. 10, to beviewed directly or projected onto a screen 26, a light-pipe structure 27is used in such a way that the direct path along the axis of the lenssystem is not impeded. Each reflecting optics lens 28 (similar to thatshown in FIG. 6) therefore "looks" at the opaque record 25 through theback side of the associated branch of the light pipe.

The light pipe in this instance has a main trunk leading to a lightsource, and multiple branches 28 leading to and terminating in thecharacters in the character pattern on the micro-record. In this way, nolight enters the optical system directly, but only after it scattersreflectively from the front surface of the micro-record. Other schemesare also possible, similar to those used in illuminators for microscopeviewing of metallurgical samples and the like.

Instead of lamps or other sources, the ambient light in the room can becollected and distributed in the manner described in connection withFIG. 10, i.e., the brighter the background illumination, the more lightis collected and concentrated where it is needed. This is alsoapplicable to a "back illumination" system.

In regard to the requirements for the indexing mechanism in the reader,it is to be noted that with an interlaced micro-record such as thatshown in FIG. 2, the total distance of travel in the X and Y directionsto obtain a full read-out of all patterns recorded, is not the fulllength or width of the micro-record as in conventional systems, but onlya small portion thereof; that is from column A_(c) to E_(c) in the Xdirection, and from rows A_(r) to E_(r) in the Y direction. Hence theindexing mechanism can be uncomplicated and yet quite accurate, for therequirements imposed thereon are not at all demanding.

In the one direction indexing record, in the arrangement shown in FIG.4, the "1's" at the head of the 6th and 12th rows are shown as fallingin the same column. However, in practice, these may be staggered toaccommodate the format of the lens matrix.

While there have been shown and described, preferred embodiments of amicro-image recording and read-out system in accordance with theinvention, it will be appreciated that many changes and modificationsmay be made therein without, however, departing from the spirit of theinvention. Thus instead of converting each page of text into a characterpattern composed of an array of dispersed individual characters or bits,the character pattern may be composed of dispersed groups of characters,or of bites, rather than bits, in which even fewer lensettes arerequired to project the character pattern.

In the light pipes shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, all surfaces thereof arerendered reflective, as by aluminum coatings, except those areas throughwhich the images are to be illuminated and transmitted.

I claim:
 1. In a microrecord reader in which information is opticallyextracted from the microrecord by a lens array, the microrecord beingconstituted by a record medium having a plurality of data sets recordedon the face thereof, each set representing a reduced scale image of adistinct page of intelligence and being dissected into a multiplicity ofdata sub-sets which are dispersed on the medium; an illuminationdistribution system comprising a plurality of flexible light-conductingoptical fibers each arranged to conduct light from a common source to arespective sub-set, thereby illuminating the sub-sets of the data setfrom which information is being extracted, the remaining areas of themicrorecord being unilluminated, thereby avoiding the waste of theavailable light energy.
 2. A system as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid record medium is transparent and said fibers are arranged behindsaid medium to pass light therethrough toward the lens array.
 3. Asystem as set forth in claim 1 wherein said common light source is anelectrical light bulb and further including a light pipe opticallycoupled to said bulb, the light-conducting optical fibers branching offfrom said light pipe.
 4. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidfibers are formed of synthetic plastic material.
 5. A system as setforth in claim 4 wherein the surfaces of the fibers are metalized toconfine the light therein.